Not to dismiss all these thoughtful considerations - but shadows on the ground which surround these patches (of smooth and reflective water) can only generally indicate "height of solar azimuth" on the ground. Were there high vertical towers in the same frame, one COULD determine both the alignment of the sun and angle of the water surface perpendicular to the satellite overhead (which is the also, the camera of course).
To capture the sun reflecting directly back into the camera from a water surface would rely on the specific and rare alignment of these two things. Yet on billions of frames recorded - it would not be a matter of "luck", but one of inevitability. -WaVy On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 5:06 AM, Rod Goke <rod.g...@earthlink.net> wrote: > Checking sun angles, as Gill suggested, is a good idea. Notice that all of > the recognizable objects (mostly trees and buildings) outside the ponds are > casting shadows toward the north and perhaps slightly toward the northwest, > suggesting that the photos were taken at or slightly before noon, when the > sun was nearly overhead but somewhat south and perhaps slightly east of a > directly overhead position. Notice also that practically all of the trees > appear to be covered with green leaves, suggesting that the photos were > taken sometime during the warmer months, when non-evergreens normally have > green leaves. Therefore, the sun angle probably is higher in the sky than it > would be during winter, but it's still low enough to cast some shadows > towards the north. > >
